Spectacle Woes

This is probably my last blog post before my lasik operation due in a few days. 

And after that, I'd probably need to rest my eyes a heck lot also.

So before my vision gets fully restored again, I think I should catalogue what the world looks like to me with 450/650 on my left and right eyes respectively. Guess I shouldn't leave this cataloguing to my post operation, lest the Australian syndrome relapses again.

How does the world look like to me right now?

I guess, for almost 20 years of my life, I have peered through the world through a pair of frames. I hardly noticed my vision getting blurrer and blurrer until it reached a point in time when I lost my pair of spectacles, and I realized just how truly lost I am.

Let me list some horrible disadvantages for wearing spectacles:

1) Waking up in the morning, and for some reason, you can't remember where you placed your spectacles the night before.

Good luck trying to find it, especially if it has dropped behind the bed.

2) Inability to wear any shades. 

I find this a major fashion inconvenience. I like Oakleys, alot. It doesn't help that I can't wear 90% of their products. This, on top of being unable to shield yourself from the glare of the noonday sun - even with a full photogrey or transition lens, the glare is still substantial.

3)  Swimming.

For avid swimmers, we know that there are several types of goggles. Those fat lace goggles for noobs and those sleek racing goggles. Unfortunately, there are hardly any sleek racing goggles catered for those blessed with myopia. So we make do with the fat lace goggles. But it aint a problem, we can still swim faster then you - it just looks, well... 

4) Football.

I think my only paranoia about that game is the ball hitting my face - which incidentally, is quite often. I've lost like 3 spectacles due to some dudes who believe they are Frank Lampard. Apart from the ball making love to your face, is the fact that your spectacles tend to file for divorce when you sweat. This is the reason why in NS, it is so important to get those rubber hooks behind the spectacles. Especially my spectacles; once having made love a few times to a soccer ball, has the tendency to slip away from my face when I'm sweaty.

5) The bathroom.

I'm narcissistic. But who can deny it sucks being unable to see yourself in the mirror when you are bathing. - okay, maybe I might be abit over, but really, reaching out for the shampoo grants you the conditioner and the conditioner grants you the bodywash..... you get my drift. You can't wear your spectacles while you bathe, it doesn't work. 

6) The giant fireballs at night. 

Astigmatism is one side effect of myopia. Your light sources get amplified unnecessarily, and your night vision fails you especially when you need to go to the toilet to pee in the middle of the night.

7) 3D Movies. 

Nuff said. Have you seen a 3D glasses with prescription? 

8) Meeting up with new people and having them comment. "ooh, that guy is so nerdy-cute!". 

Yeah, I can probably lift heavier weights then your boyfriend and 75% of your non-spectacle-wearing-guy-friends on your facebook. Who's nerdy-cute now? heh. But seriously, I don't mind.. I think I'd probably miss that comment most when I zap out my glasses.

9) Zero peripheral ability. 

Birds have about 320 degrees of peripheral vision, Hedgehogs about 260 degrees,   Chimps about 140 degrees, Humans about 120 degrees of peripheral vision. I have about 90 degrees. This means that an assassin could stab me at the side and blink away fast enough that I would probably think my waist suddenly burst out in blood by itself. Talk about lack of defence. 

10) You can't see how the barber is cutting your hair.

This is probably one of the worst. The hairdresser can be happily snipping your hair away and you have no idea how he or she is mutilating your poor crowning glory. More then once have I put on my spectacles to a person I barely recognize any more. And they still have the cheek to ask you why you didn't stop them earlier. Hello, if I wanted my hair to be short, I'm not expecting it to be NSF army boy short, if I wanted it to be that short, I'd go to the deng-lang barber downstairs for $6 to get it done in 5 minutes.

Okay, there are a heck load of disadvantages wearing spectacles, but for those who have the luxury of wearing contact lenses, or never had to wear spectacles in your life before, please don't attempt to stop me from doing my lasik. It's worse then hypocrisy.

For once in my life, I want to see again - like a normal human being. 

Disorientation

Time flies when  you are busy. In fact, it flies even faster when you are productive.

Since I ever knew myself, I knew I was an introvert attempting time and again to pretend to be an extrovert. Interestingly, the motivations behind it is purely due to my belief that extroverts are much more likely to be successful in society in contrast to introverts.

I was asked today, "why do you think you are an introvert? you seem to be quite chatty and can hold a conversation pretty well!"

Ha. Complements aside, I know I'm an because I like being alone. In fact, I enjoy being alone so much that my "alone time" is so hard-wired into my schedule it is actually quite difficult to grab hold of me for anything.

Even in Australia, I loved sitting by myself at the front balcony (assuming it's not summer, God-forbid), and just reading from my laptop. Sometimes, I would even print out my lecture notes so that I can sit on top of the wooden table and bask in the warmth of the early spring and late autumn sun.

Above all, my gym time is as personal as it gets for most of it.

Oh well, I'm blogging because I actually have some breather time to recalibrate my thoughts.

My new job is pretty awesome. It's a standard 8:30-5:30 job, with the occasional stay-back-to-do-work-because-you-are-a-responsible-guy stints. My colleagues are AWESOME, it's such a warm and happy culture within the workplace that it is hard to feel miserable even under extreme stress (i.e. having to finish stacks of orders in one day).

I guess I have worked in quite a few places: Pastamania, Singapore Press Holdings, Mediacorp, DBS and now Citibank. But I don't think any of my predecessors really can come close to the supportive environment of my current workplace.

Humility is an important aspect of a structured, tall-pyramid, formal working environment, and I believe I ingrain it to a large extent in everything I do. - and I guess my colleagues take it quite well.

While the finance industry can be a terrifying place to many people who study the undercurrents, even to the point where some financial analysts and bankers would not even invest in stocks, despite their sizable income. While it is complicated, if the culture of the workplace is one that simplifies and pacifies, constantly looking for opportunity and being optimistic, it will inevitably overflow to the customers as well. 

right. okay.

enough of corporate culture philosophy.

An interesting fact is that I am actually the only male assistant banker within my department. I've lost count how many times they exclaimed that there is a yin-yang balancing problem within my department. Heh. Oh well, while I would love to work in an all-guys environment, I tend to end up at the other end most of the time.

It's still good, I guess (or rather hope) I'd be treasured more. Lol.

I get to talk to some very interesting customers occasionally as well. So, it's not a  boring job at all! 

Well, it IS clerical to a large extent, but hell, I can work out a ton of sweat after 6pm! 

So, in summary:

- Standard working hours

- Supportive working environment

- Kind supervisors

- Structured and systematic workflow

- Concrete roles and responsibilities

- Constant learning and adapting

- Employee and customer centric culture

- Decent pay

- Fantastic future job opportunities

It's pretty much a dream job for most people, especially introverts and systematically logical people. 

I'm having the time of my life at Citibank. =D

This is free advertising for them from the bottom of my heart.